Jim Pettigrew to be Awarded Alltech Medal of Excellence

[Lexington, KENTUCKY]- Alltech, a global leader in animal health and nutrition, announced that Professor Jim Pettigrew will be the recipient of the 2010 Medal of Excellence to be presented at Alltech’s 26th International Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium taking place at the Lexington Convention Center May 16-19, 2010. Professor Pettigrew will be honored for his revolutionary research in the area of food production and his work to address the challenges of feeding an increasing global population.

“It is truly an honor for me to receive this Medal of Excellence from Alltech, a company joined in the effort to produce enough food,” said Pettigrew. “One of the grand challenges of the coming decades will be to produce enough food to satisfy a world with a rapidly increasing appetite. As in the past, we will succeed in that challenge to the extent we make the investments and take the creative actions necessary for success.”

“Having travelled extensively, Professor Jim Pettigrew has first hand experience of the challenges that face our world as we struggle to provide safe food for a growing population. Professor Pettigrew has produced pioneering solutions looking at how the food producing industry can reduce its dependence on grains, corn and soya diets and instead utilize alternative materials as a viable diet for protein production,” said Alltech President, Dr. Pearse Lyons.

Professor Jim Pettigrew will also take part in the Symposium Plenary Session, where he will set out his main objectives for the feed and food production industry in order to meet growing global demands.

Professor Pettigrew is a native of Wayne County, Illinois, and earned degrees from Southern Illinois University (B.S. in Animal Industries), Iowa State University (M.S. in Animal Nutrition), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition). After receiving his Ph.D., he worked for several years in industry before accepting a faculty appointment at the University of Minnesota. Here, his research included mathematical modeling and the connections between nutrition and reproduction. He led the development of the first mathematical model of pig metabolism, with a focus on the lactating sow. Seventeen years later he left the University of Minnesota and founded Pettigrew Consulting International, LLC. In that role, he worked across a wide range of activities in several different countries, especially in Latin America.

He was recruited to the University of Illinois in 2001, under the Faculty Excellence Program. His current research emphasizes connections between diet and health, with special attention to gut bacteria.

Jim Pettigrew has served as President of the Midwest Section of the American Society of Animal Science, and was a member of the National Research Council subcommittee that produced the 10th Edition of Nutrient Requirements of Pigs. He served on a World Health Organization panel to evaluate the termination of antimicrobial growth promoters in Denmark. He supports the National Pork Board through membership on the Pork Safety Committee, the Non-Antibiotic Production Enhancers Committee, and the Antibiotic Use Decision Tree group.

For further information and to register for Alltech’s 26th International Animal Health and Nutrition Industry Symposium visit: www.alltech.com/symposium